


Worth the Wait

by bombshellbrunette (orphan_account)



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Jealousy, Wally is a cinnamon roll, What else is new, a whole lotta pining nonsense, basically ruby is a jealous little bitch and sapphire sorts it out, steven stone namedrops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-25 23:19:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18271142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/bombshellbrunette
Summary: The Petalburg Gym was, theoretically, closed. Ruby knew this because he’d been lurking in the area all day trying to catch Sapphire on her way to training with her father, as she did nearly daily, so they could take a nice walk through the woods and discuss a truly terrifying prospect: their future. However, just as he's about to take the plunge and Ask™, his plans are shattered by a boy who looks like a cabbage flirting with his girlfriend. Who maybe doesn't know that she's his girlfriend yet.





	Worth the Wait

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mikoshiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikoshiko/gifts).



> this took me so long to finish, but i had a great time writing it!! this was commissioned by the wonderful [mikoshiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikoshiko/pseuds/mikoshiko), who shares so many fandoms with me that picking one to write for was a real challenge. thank you so much, mio, and i hope you enjoy this fic at long last!!<3

The Petalburg Gym was, theoretically, closed. Ruby knew this because he’d been lurking in the area all day trying to catch Sapphire on her way to training with her father, as she did nearly daily, so they could take a nice walk through the woods and discuss a truly terrifying prospect: their future.

Ever since Sapphire had become the Champion, they’d been seeing less and less of each other. Ruby had left shortly after she defeated Steven to do more field work in Sinnoh, but when he returned to Hoenn she always seemed to be busy defending her title and working on new strategies to bring Swampert and the rest of team to even greater success. It was maddening how infrequently they crossed paths, especially since they were both from one of the smallest towns in the entire region and lived right next to one another. Literally.

All of this was to say that he had decided that it was time to take matters into his own hands. They wouldn’t be able to do the casual run-in he had hoped would happen in Littleroot, sure, but he was a creative guy. There was another place in Hoenn, thankfully, that she seemed to be at a lot, at least judging by the never-ending BuzzNav reports on her life: her father’s gym. It made sense to Ruby that she’d want to get away from her life as the Champion. Everything she did was scrutinized by the media and friends alike, putting her in an awkward position as both a sixteen-year-old trying to get through life and the biggest celebrity in the region. He respected that she didn’t jet off in some private jet to Ecutreak, like some of the region’s other stars had done in the past. She stuck her ground, stayed true to her family and her roots, and remained conveniently accessible for those of the population who did not have access to private jets. People like Ruby, for example.

Petalburg was, by bicycle, about an hour’s distance from Littleroot. He could easily make up an excuse about fieldwork and linger by the gym until he conveniently bumped into Sapphire, at which point he’d sweep her off her feet and get married. There were a few steps –– and a few years, he thought grimly –– missing in that plan, but the bare bones of it were solid. Run-in, flirting, walk, talk, marriage. Easy as pie.

But after three hours of waiting, Ruby had noticed a clear flaw in his master plan. Sapphire was nowhere to be found. He’d peeked into the gym a few times and looked around, much to the chagrin of the gym trainers who were probably trying to get work done, but she wasn’t in any of Norman’s wonky skill-specific rooms. He’d contemplated simply _asking_ Norman where she was, but he didn’t feel emotionally prepared to talk to his future father-in-law before he even started dating Sapphire. There was a time and a place for that particular awkward moment, but not now.

Sighing, he walked around to where he had propped up his bike, grabbing the handlebars and dragging it over to start back towards Littleroot. There was no point waiting any longer for Sapphire to show up. Ruby could always make the commute again to go visit, some other day, though he couldn’t help but feel disappointed at the prospect of another afternoon wasted searching for her.

As he led his bike towards Route 102, though, he couldn’t help but notice something out of the corner of his eye. A green-haired kid was crouched down on the ground next to a patch of tall grass feeding Pokéblocks to a Zigzagoon and an irritatingly familiar girl sat on the ground next to him, typical bike shorts and workout hoodie exchanged for denim shorts and a tank top. Sapphire’s outfit was cute and perfect for hot summer days like the one Hoenn was experiencing, and any other day Ruby would revel at the opportunity to see her so casually dressed, but today it only pissed him off, because she was giggling and looking cute for a boy who obviously was not him, and looked about twelve years old. If Ruby was being generous.

At the sound of another bright peal of laughter, a fresh wave of irritation washed over Ruby. He had to intervene, and fast, because they looked like they were having a thrilling conversation, and – more disturbingly – Sapphire’s legs were splayed out appealingly on the bright green grass. No man, especially not the obnoxious punk who was usurping Ruby’s spot, would be able to resist.

“Yo!” he called out, waving an overly cheerful hand in their direction.

The boy spun around first, confused at the sudden interruption, and then Sapphire followed, turning back to see who had called out. Ruby could barely manage to keep his arm raised.

God, did she look _great_. Her arms were covered by a healthy golden tan, probably from doing outside training in the sea coves down by Sootopolis and Mossdeep with Steven Stone, and freckles spread out over the sloping bridge of her nose, spilling across her charmingly pink cheeks. Needless to say the little gremlin beside her, who looked more like a head of cabbage than a real person, was undeserving of her attention.

“Ruby!” replied Sapphire after a second’s pause, jumping to her feet to brush off her dirty knees. “C’mere! Me and Wally were just checking out the local wildlife. A woman living close to the Gym asked me to interfere with the aggressive Pokémon on the outskirts of town, but they’re really not bad if you get to know them!”

Ruby grinned, though internally it felt like more of a victorious smirk, and walked over to where they were hanging out. The green-haired boy didn’t look as annoyed as Ruby had hoped, which was kind of frustrating, but there were clearly gears turning in his little head. That, somehow, was more upsetting than his lack of response.

Kneeling down beside Sapphire, Ruby extended a hand to the Pokémon nibbling on the brightly-colored snack. The Zigzagoon looked up, curious, and nudged at his fingers before returning to its task. “It seems like they’re just hungry,” he remarked, giving the Zigzagoon’s chin a fond rub. “Maybe the other Pokémon who’ve lived here for a while haven’t adapted to the newcomers on the block, and this new group just hasn’t squared up to fight them for food yet.”

“That’s amazing,” said the green-haired boy, reaching out to stroke the Zigzagoon’s downy forehead. “I hadn’t thought about it like that.” He looked over at Ruby and smiled. “I’m Wally, by the way. I think we’ve met before, but it was nice to be formally introduced at last.”

“Yeah,” said Ruby uncomfortably, because who gave this little _turnip_ the right to be polite and, for the good love of Arceus, even kind of nice? Preposterous. “I was just on my way to check some stuff out for my dad, so, uh… Y’know. Thought I’d stop by and help out. The name’s Ruby.”

Sapphire shot him a sideways look that sent shivers of fear down Ruby’s spine, and said airily, “Alright, Wally, I think it’s high time you got home. If you want to challenge me again soon, you’d better start training more and hanging around less, you got that?”

Wally laughed, and got to his feet. “Yes ma’am,” he said with surprising vigor, offering Sapphire a cheeky salute. “Thanks for coming out to help me today. Hopefully all the neighbors will appreciate it, too – I didn’t wrestle a fifty-pound Zigzagoon for nothing.”

Sapphire shrugged, garnering a chuckle from her green-haired companion, but the corners of her lips were twitching up into a sly half-smile. Clearly they’d had a Moment™, and the cursed cabbage child was reveling in his quality time with the hottest girl in Hoenn.

(Okay, so technically Lisia had been voted the _actual_ hottest girl in Hoenn. Three years in a row, in fact. But Ruby had better taste than the chumps judging the competition, and he knew for a fact that the votes had somehow been rigged, because Sapphire was obviously the better candidate. Anyone with a pair of functioning eyeballs could see that.)

 Ruby’s blood boiled at the sight of it, glaring even as ‘Wally’ – if that was even his real name – retreated down the road leading into Petalburg. “And stay gone,” he muttered savagely, picking at a hangnail on his thumb.

“Okay,” said Sapphire after a few seconds of silence, turning away from the dusty path ahead to look at Ruby. “We’re gonna have a talk right about _now._ I wasn’t going to say something in front of Wally because I didn’t want to embarrass him, but Arceus, Ruby, what crawled up your ass and died today?”

Blush creeping up his neck and onto his pale cheeks, Ruby replied defensively, “I was just trying to stick up for you! That kid was being all flirty and it was _obviously_ making you uncomfortable, so I thought I’d step in and let him know that, uh… Y’know. His attempts were unwelcome.” He paused and looked up, wincing a bit at the incredulity stamped across her face, and finished lamely, “You should be _thanking_ me.”

Sapphire stared at him for a few seconds, mouth set in an unimpressed line, and said, “You’re joking. Clearly while I’ve been gone you suddenly went and found a sense of humor, or––oh! I know! You finally lost your mind! I knew all that Pokémon knowledge was eating at _something_ in that brain of yours!”

Red to the tips of his ears now, Ruby shook his head, determined to stick his ground. “I’m not joking,” he insisted, stumbling on the last syllable. _Coward,_ his thoughts crooned, _you’re a big old coward scared of a_ girl _of all things._  “Y-you should’ve seen the way he was ogling you! It was obscene!”

“Are you sure you’re not talking about yourself, _Birch?"_  she fired back. “Y’know, denial’s not just a river in Kalos. Maybe you should read up on it sometime, if you’re not too busy swanning off to Sinnoh with your dad.”

“As if _you_ could criticize me for that with all your stupid training!” shouted Ruby, properly heated now. While he’d known from the start that his allegations would provoke Sapphire, he hadn’t anticipated _this._ They squabbled, certainly, but they’d never had a huge blowout before. It was honestly kind of refreshing to finally tell her all the things he’d been keeping bottled up inside recently. “I haven’t seen you in weeks, and you live _literally_ right next door to me. Give it a rest already, for Rayquaza’s sake; everyone and their goddamned third cousin twice removed knows you’re the strongest trainer around! Jesus, I came out here just to spend some time with you and you’re hanging out with some other guy. Y’think that makes me feel good, huh?”

“Well at least _I_ ––" started Sapphire, voice quaking with anger, before shaking her head in confusion. “Wait, hold on, _what_? You came here to see me? I thought you said your dad sent you.”

“I lied,” admitted Ruby, shifting in his place. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, beating so hard it was thumping in his sneakers, as he continued, “I just… Ever since you’ve become Champion, I haven’t seen you around. And I miss you, y’know? You’re my best pal and I wanted to hang out.”

Sapphire bit her lip and reached out a hand, letting it rest on his bare knee. “I know I’ve been super busy recently,” she said apologetically, “and I’m really sorry about that. It’s a lot of pressure to be the Champion after someone like Steven, because he’s just so capable, and no matter how hard I train I’ll never reach that level of experience and confidence.”

Ruby blinked, surprised. “But you literally rode a gigantic green lizard into space and stopped two separate psychos from burning the world to the ground,” he said, grinning, and rested his palm atop hers. Her skin was warm and soft, and the feel of their hands pressed together sent pleasing sparks through his body. “That was so badass even _Steven Stone_ was impressed by how awesome you were. And guess what? He was a kid, too, and I’m sure he wasn’t toppling criminal empires at the tender age of fifteen. It’s a learning curve, Sapphire, and let me tell you – you’re already way ahead of it.”

Sapphire’s cheeks went pink, but she made no moves to pull her hand away from his. “Just so you know,” she mumbled under her breath, peeking out at him from under her lashes, “Wally is like a brother to me. I’m not dating anyone, but even if I was, it wouldn’t be him.” She leaned forwards and quickly, without hesitation, kissed him on the cheek. Her lips were hot, and the faint impression they left against his skin burned.

“Oh,” breathed out Ruby, brows high on his forehead. “…Okay.”

He mentally took back every bad thing he ever thought about Wally and Steven Stone and her Championship and the Hoenn region at large as he ducked down to return the favor, because this? This was an outcome worth waiting for.

**Author's Note:**

> drop a kudos or a comment if u feel like!! and see you all next time for another surprise fic before i get on my update schedule 0^0


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